Apparatus for shutting off water during air drilling



H. W. PARKER Aug. 8, 1967 APPARATUS FOR SHUTTING OFF WATER DURING AIR DRILLING 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Nov. 6. 1964 INVENTOR H W PARKER A T TORNEVS H. W. PARKER Aug. 8, 1967 APPARATUS FOR SHUTTING OFF WATER DURING AIR DRILLING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 6, 1964 INVENTOR H W PARKER i? 6 ATTORNEYS FIG 5 United States Patent 3,334,691 APPARATUS FOR SHUTTING OFF WATER DURING AiR DRILLING Harry W. Parker, Barflesville, 0kla., assignor to Phillips Petroleum Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 409,423 4 Claims. '(Cl. 166152) This invention relates to apparatus for preventing fluids from entering a well bore. In one aspect, this invention relates to apparatus for preventing the encroachment of fluids from a formation traversed by a well bore during the drilling of said well bore. In another aspect, this invention relates to apparatus for rapidly and eificiently sealing -a well bore during the drilling of said well bore so as to prevent fluids from entering the well bore.

The invention will be described in connection with the drilling of a well bore wherein a gaseous fluid is used as the circulating media. It will be understood that the invention can be used by one skilled in the art wherein a liquid fluid is used as the circulating media.

The use of a gaseous fluid as the circulating media in the drilling of well bores has received widespread acceptance in recent years. The use of this type of circulating media has several advantages over the use of a liquid circulating media. Some of the advantages realized are a reduced cost of drilling, a longer bit life, and a faster drilling rate. One of the problems presented when a gaseous fluid is used is that any water-bearing formation traversed by the well bore will tend to yield water because of the absence of a hydrostatic head of liquid in the well bore. The presence of water is undesirable when a gaseous fluid is used as the circulating media because the cuttings will become sticky and form rings or balls on the drill pipe. This will result in -a restriction to the flow of the gaseous circulating media and thereby decrease its lifting capacity. If this situation is not corrected, such as by removing the drill pipe from the well bore and blowing the water and cuttings out, the drill pipe will eventually become lodged in the well bore.

Although small amounts of water can be tolerated by injecting suitable chemicals into the well bore, when the volume of water entering the well bore becomes too great it will be necessary to set casing adjacent the waterbearing formation. This tedious method of preventing water from entering the well bore will increase the time and cost of drilling by a substantial amount.

According to this invention, water present in a formation traversed by a well bore is prevented from entering the well bore by inflating a packer apparatus so as to seal the formation. This is accomplished by attaching the packer apparatus into the string of drill pipe near the bottom end thereof. When the drill is lowered into the well bore, the inflatable packer is positioned adjacent the water-bearing formation and inflated. After the packer has been inflated, the string of drill pipe is rotated and lowered into the well bore and drilling resumed. The inside diameter of the packer body is larger than the outside diameter of the drill pipe so as to allow the cuttings to be circulated from the bottom of the well bore back to the surface. When it is desirous to remove the drill pipe from the well bore, which may occur for example to change drill bits, the string of drill pipe is raised until the drill 1 Patented Aug. 8, 1967 Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus for sealing a well bore.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for preventing the encroachment of Lv-ater into a well bore during the drilling of said well ore.

A further object of this invention is to provide a rapid and elficient apparatus for preventing the encroachment of water into a well bore wherein a gaseous fluid is used as the circulating media.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent by reference to the detailed specification, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-section of a Well bore showing the packer apparatus in its deflated condition adjacent a water-bearing formation;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-section of a well bore showing the packer in its inflated condition after the drill stem has been rotated and lowered;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 33 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-section of a well bore showing the packer in sealing engagement with a water-bearing formation and the drill stem lowered into the well bore; and

FIGURE 6 is a broken isometric view in cross-section of the interior surface of the packer.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference n-umerals are used to identify like elements, and particularly to FIGURE 1, a well bore 1 is shown as having penetrated a water-bearing formation 2. A string of drill pipe 3 including the packer apparatus shown generally by 4 is illustrated as having been lowered into the well bore such that the packer apparatus is positioned adjacent the water-bearing formation 2. The packer apparatus comprises a first hollow, tubular member 6 provided with suitable threads at its ends so that it can be attached into the string of drill pipe 3. The tubular member 6 is provided with a ball valve 7 having a pair of diametrically opposed lugs 8 which project through a pair of spaced, diametrically opposed, transverse openings 9 in the tubular member 6. The mating portions of the openings 9 and the lugs 8 are circular in cross-section so as to allow the ball valve 7 to be rotated from a first to a second position within the tubular member 6. The ball valve 7 is provided with an opening 11 which will serve to allow fluid communication between the upper and lower portions of the tubular member 6 when the ball valve has been rotated to its second position.

A second hollow, tubular member 12 surrounds the first tubular member 6. As shown best by FIGURE 6 of the drawings, the tubular member 12 is provided with a pair of interior, diametrically opposed helical grooves 13 which accommodate the ends of the lugs 8. The ends of the lugs 8 are quadrilateral in cross-section and are of the same size as the width of the groove 13. An inflatable packer member 14, constructed of elastomeric material or the like, is secured to the tubular member 12 by means of circumferential bands 16 and 17. A first passageway 18 extends from the upper portion of the tubular memher 6 into one of the openings 9. A second passageway 20 extends from the same opening 9 to the exterior surface of the tubular member 6. The passageways 18 and 20 intersect the opening 9 such that they are directly across from each other. The lug 8 which projects through this opening is provided with a transverse passageway 23. The passageway 23 is positioned such that it will be aligned with passageways 18 and 20 when the ball valve is in its first position. A frangible hose 21 will serve to connect the passageway 20 with an opening 25 in the tubular member 12. The hose 21 is connected to the tubular members 6 and 12 by means of nipples 19 and 22, respectively. This will allow fluid to be passed from the upper portion of the tubular member 6 into the inflatable packer member 14. A spring-biased valve 24 in opening 25 will prevent fluid from escaping from within the inflatable packer member 14. The packer member 14 is provided with a frangible circumferential ring 26 which will rupture when the tubular member 12 is lifted in response to an upward force generated when the drill pipe is raised out of the well bore. The inflatable packer 14 is provided with an orifice 27 which will serve to allow fluid to escape from the inflatable packer after the frangible ring 26 has been ruptured.

FIGURES 1 and 3 of the drawings illustrate the ball valve 7 in its first position. The ball valve 7 is oriented such that it will prevent fluid from flowing between the upper and lower portions of the tubular member 6. Since the passageway 23 is aligned with passageways 18 and 20, fluid can be passed from the upper portion of the tubular member 6 into the inflatable packer 14.

FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawings show the relative position of the parts after the packer has been inflated and the drill pipe has been rotated and lowered such that the ball valve is in its second position. In this position, the inflatable packer member 14 extends into sealing engagement with the water-bearing formation 2. The positive grip obtained by the inflated member 14 with the well bore 1 will allow the drill pipe including the tubular member 6 to be rotated and lowered relative to the tubular member 12. As the quadrilateral-shaped ends of the lugs 8 follow the helical grooves 13 in the tubular member 12, the ball valve 7 is caused to rotate to its second position thereby positioning the opening 11 into register with the upper and lower portions of the tubular member 6. This rotation of the ball valve 7 also moves passageway 23 out of alignment with passageways 18 and 20. Since the hose 21 is constructed of frangible material, it will rupture in response to the relative movement between the tubular members 6 and 12. When the drill pipe 3 is lowered to a point where drilling can be resumed, the circulating media can be passed through the tubular member 6 because the opening 11 in the ball valve 7 has been rotated into alignment with the upper and lower portions of the tubular member 6.

In using the packer apparatus of this invention, the tubular member 6 including the surrounding tubular member 12 and inflatable packer 14 is assembled and connected into the string of drill pipe. The drill pipe is lowered into the Well bore to a position such that the packer apparatus is adjacent the water-bearing formation 2. The inflatable packer member 14 is expanded into sealing engagement with the water-bearing formation 2 by passing fluid from a suitable source, not shown, through the drill pipe 3 and the aligned passageways 18, 23, and 20. The frangible hose 21 will serve to transmit the fluid from the passageway 20 through the spring-biased valve 24 into the inflatable member 14. After the inflatable member 14 has been inflated, the drill pipe 3 including the tubular member 6 is rotated approximately 90 degrees and lowered relative to the tubular member 12. This will cause the lugs 8 to follow the helical grooves 13 thereby moving the ball valve 7 from its first to its second position. The frangible hose 21 will be broken by this relative movement and the spring-biased valve 24 will prevent fluid from flowing out of the inflatable member 14. Since the ball valve 7 has been rotated so as to bring the opening 11 into alignment with the tubular member 6, the circulating media can be passed through the string of drill pipe 3 so as to assist in the drilling operation. The movement of the ball valve to its second position also causes passageway 23 to be rotated out of alignment with passageways 18 and 20 thereby insuring that all of the circulating media used for drilling will pass through the opening 11.

Referring to FIGURE 5 of the drawings, it will be seen that drilling can be continued while the packer remains in place adjacent the water-bearing formation 2. The cuttings are circulated from the bottom of the well bore to the surface between the drill pipe 3 and the tubular member 12.

When the drill pipe is removed from the well bore for the purpose of changing a drill bit or the like, the uppermost end of the drill bit will contact the lowermost end of the tubular member 12. By exerting an upward force on the drill pipe, the tubular member 12 will be moved upward thereby rupturing the frangible circumferential ring 26. This will allow fluid to escape from within the inflatable packer member 14 through the orifice 27. The entire packer assembly in its deflated condition can then be returned to the surface along with the drill pipe.

As drilling progresses it is likely that several waterbearing formations will be encountered. These can be quickly and eflectively sealed in accordance with this invention by connecting several packer apparatus into the string of drill pipe. The water-bearing formations can then be progressively sealed as the drill pipe is lowered into the hole. After the lowermost formation has been sealed, the drill pipe can be lowered and drilling resumed with circulation of the drilling fluid through the several packers.

Although the invention has beendescribed in consider able detail, such detail is for the sole purpose of illustra-' tion and it is to be understood that many variations can be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for sealing a formation traversed by a well bore comprising: a first hollow member having a pair of spaced openings; a second hollow member concentrically positioned around at least a portion of said first hollow member; a valve positioned within said first hollow member, said valve having a pair of outwardly extending lugs positioned through the spaced openings in said first hollow member into engagement with a pair of substantially helical interior grooves in said second hollow member; an inflatable packer member carried by said second hollow member, said lugs and grooves cooperating to open and close said valve upon relative movement between said first and said second hollow members; and means connecting said first hollow member and said inflatable packer member for passing fluid into said packer member for expanding said packer member into sealing engagement with said formation.

2. Apparatus for sealing a formation traversed by a well bore comprising: a first tubular member attachable into a string of drill pipe, said first tubular member being provided with a pair of diametrically opposed transverse openings, said first tubular member being further provided with a first passageway extending from the upper portion of said first tubular member into one of said openings and a second passageway extending from the same opening to the exterior of said first tubular member; a ball valve positioned within said first tubular member and adapted to be rotated from a first to a second position, said ball valve being provided with an opening for permitting fluid flow from the upper portion to the lower portion of said first tubular member when said ball valve is rotated to the second position, said ball valve being further provided with a pair of diametrically opposed lugs extending through the openings in said first tubular member, one of said lugs being provided with a passageway for connecting said first and said second passageways in said first tubular member when said ball valve is in the first position; a second tubular member concentrically positioned around at least a portion of said first tubular member, said second tubular member being provided with a pair of interior, diametrically opposed helical grooves slidably accommodating the lugs of said ball valve; an 5 inflatable packer member attached to said second tubular member; and a frangible hose connecting said second passageway in said first tubular member and said inflatable packer member for passing fluid into said inflatable packer member when said ball valve is in the first position.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said second tubular member is provided with :an opening having a spring-biased valve therein and said frangible hose is attached to and in fluid communication with said opening.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said inflatable packer member is secured to said second tubular member by means of a frangible circumferential ring which will rupture so as to allow fluid to escape from within the inflatable packer member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 462,-392 11/1891 Bullock 166187 X 1,808,958 6/1931 Lane et a1 1*6618'7 X 2,301,624 11/1942 Holt 166128 X 2,315,931 4/1943 Burt et a1. 166143 X 2,663,545 12/1953 Grable 166187 X 2,942,667 6/1960 Blood et a1. 175--325 X 2,959,225 11/ 1960 Roberts 166224 X 3,007,669 11/1-961 Fredd 166-224 X 3,0 7,943 4/ 1962 Reistle 17572 X 3,270,814 9/1966 Richardson et a1. 166-187 X CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

I. A. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR SEALING A FORMATION TRAVERSED BY A WELL BORE COMPRISING: A FIRST HOLLOW MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED OPENINGS; A SECOND HOLLOW MEMBER CONCENTRICALLY POSITIONED AROUND AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID FIRST HOLLOW MEMBER; A VALVE POSITIONED WITHIN SAID FIRST HOLLOW MEMBER, SAID VALVE HAVING A PAIR OF OUTWARDLY EXTENDING LUGS POSITIONED THROUGH THE SPACED OPENINGS IN SAID FIRST HOLLOW MEMBER INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH A PAIR OF SUBSTANTIALLY HELICAL INTERIOR GROOVES IN SAID SECOND HOLLOW MEMBER; AN INFLATABLE PACKER MEMBER CARRIED BY SAID SECOND HOLLOW MEMBER, SAID LUGS AND GROOVES COOPERATING TO OPEN AND CLOSE SAID VALVE UPON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND HOLLOW MEMBERS; AND MEANS CONNECTING MEMBER FOR PASSING FLUID INTO SAID PACKER FLATABLE PACKER MEMBER FOR PASSING FLUID INTO SAID PACKER MEMBER FOR EXPANDING SAID PACKER MEMBER INTO SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FORMATION. 